Reviews

FRONTReviews >

Readers and patrons of the business journal are invited to submit reviews (along with an optional photo) to news@vbFRONT.com. We’ve expanded our reviews to include books, music, art, performances, culinary—with a preference for local productions. Reviews must be original, include the author’s name and location, and should be brief, under 350 words.

Shhh… undocumented

When most young people are defining themselves, Excel knows he can’t. The Son of Good Fortune (Ecco; 2020), Lysley Tenorio’s second book (after Monstress), sympathetically illuminates the tenuous lives of undocumented immigrants, those who are “not really here.”

Born on a Philippine Airlines flight to a mother fleeing abuse in Manila, they arrive in San Francisco with no documentation, and Excel identifies as “TNT”— Tagalog for “hiding and hiding.” His mother, Maxima, a B-movie action star in the Philippines, works menial jobs and scams men online. Excel knows their lives could implode if he draws attention to himself, so he’s “the quiet kid who keeps quieter.... What took effort and strategy became, as the years went on, instinct and habit.”

At 19, Excel sees no future beyond working for the tyrannical owner of The Pie Who Loved Me pizza shop, who requires no Social Security number and pays him in cash. So when his girlfriend, Sab, invites him to move with her to the off-the-grid desert community of Hello City, he bids Maxima goodbye and leaves. Sab grew up bouncing among relatives, and with good humor and optimism they anticipate better days. Hello City brings new experiences, but after nine months, multiple crises send Excel back to Maxima. Consistently responsible and kind, he works to satisfy a debt and hopes to reunite with Sab, while mother and son establish a new bond. The Son of Good Fortune avoids sentimentality. Tenorio’s characters are humorous and loving, in spite of the exclusion overshadowing their very existence.

—Cheryl McKeon

For Woody Fans

Chances are if you like Woody Allen movies and his New York sensibility – and sense of humor – you will like his autobiography, Apropos of Nothing (Arcade Publishing, 2020). It reads in many cases like a stream of consciousness as he jumps back and forth, from writing for variety shows in the 50’s, to his marriage and relationships – professional and personal – with the likes of Louise Lasser (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow etc. Allen never strived to make the commercial blockbuster and some of his many, many films either didn’t make it to this part of Virginia or perhaps had one week at the Grandin. Movie buffs will enjoy Allen’s behind the scenes look at filmmaking and he is brutally honest at times with his descriptions of those he has worked with over the past 50+ years.

What’s a bit more uncomfortable are two longish sections where he reviews molestation charges brought against him by Mia Farrow against one of her two children that he had adopted as their father – despite the fact that he and Farrow lived separately and never married. Then there was 22-year-old Soon-Yi, Mia’s daughter and not one of the children Allen adopted – who wound up in a highly public relationship with the filmmaker

30 years her senior. They’ve been married for over two decades now. The charges were never proven but many of Allen’s associates stayed away when they went public. If you can stick to the story of his entering the business as a comedy writer and then as a filmmaker, Apropos of Nothing can be an amusing read.

—Gene Marrano

Lovely bar talk

In Love by Roddy Doyle (Viking; 2020) two guys hang out at the pub and talk about... relationships. Note to (most) girls (I know): it’s not that deep. Note to (most) guys (I know): it’s not that shallow.

—Tom Field

Robot post

Hank Green’s An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (Trapeze; 2018) housed a good idea for a contemporary plot between its covers. The YA novel (I didn’t see it marketed for youth) doesn’t really work for younger or older audiences, unfortunately. Becoming an internet star by being the first to report on the mysterious appearance of robot statues makes a compelling story; but the shallow character development and dialogue was flat and unrewarding. I did stick with it—expecting a concluding twist I suppose; but I can only scratch my head how so many people gave this story top reviews. If there ever was a misleading title…

—Tom Field

Giddy up delizioso

Napoli Cowboy “out near the lake” is an exceptional restaurant sitting in an unexpected converted roadside store in the Burnt Chimney area, Franklin County / Smith Mountain Lake. Family owned and operated, the bistro-like environment proffers surprising full flavored dishes that combine “Texan” and “Italian” cuisine for a most unique dining experience, even in the midst of the lake life casual atmosphere. You’ll be hard pressed to assign yourself a “favorite” here… I order something different just about every time. And each presentation is always perfecto… followed by memorable taste that lures you back… in my case, disregarding a near 45-minute drive. Who would have ever thought south central United States new country and Mediterranean peninsula old country culture could mix this well in the kitchen? It does. I promise. If you’re disappointed after a visit to Napoli Cowboy, your taste buds need serious attention.

—Tom Field

The reviewers: Cheryl McKeon is a bookseller in Troy, NY; Gene Marrano is editor of FRONT; Tom Field is a creative director and publisher of FRONT.